Chile scrambled on Monday to provide aid to tens of thousands of homeless people in areas devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunamis, and 10,000 troops patrolled to quell looting. The 8.8 magnitude quake on Saturday killed 711 people and the death toll was expected to rise. Harrowing scenes of destruction emerged in isolated towns swamped by giant waves triggered by one of the strongest quakes in a century. Many people were still missing in some communities in the worst-hit central region of Chile, which remained largely cut off by mangled highways and fallen telephone lines. Shortages of drinking water and food worsened the effects of the disaster, while power cuts slowed relief efforts and threatened economic output.

A summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, decided to create a new regional bloc excluding the United States and Canada, in what most international media described as an act of defiance against Washington. But there are three big reasons to believe that, despite claims by Venezuela and a few other countries that the new group will replace the U.S.-based Organization of American States (OAS) and challenge U.S. foreign policies, it will be something very different. First, many of the 32 countries that participated in the Feb. 22-23 summit are behind in their annual payments to the United Nations, the OAS and other international institutions, and don't want to create a new bureaucracy.